Hi. I'm Hanz und I'm Franz, und we are here to pump YOU up!
Written: Jun 15 '00 (Updated Jun 19 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Variety of equipment, long work hours, not as expensive as other gyms
Cons: More social than some other gyms (pro?)
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| AlexG's Full Review: Bally Total Fitness |
Attention everyone! I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled workout today to bring you the following important announcements. Bally Total Fitness has just announced a major sale, and if you don't sign up now, you'll regret this later as the opportunity to get the prices at the current levels will never arise again!
No matter when you are reading this review--the day that I write it, tomorrow, a week or months from now--the "last chance" sale will always be around in Bally Total Fitness, and it will always end the next day after you talk to the Bally's sales staff. I'm not a psychic and I don't have a crystal ball, but it's just something I know after being a member of this chain for the last 8 years.
Compared to most other gyms, Bally's is cheap. This is not to say that you can easily afford it. There are all kinds of memberships, ranging from going exclusively to your local Bally's gym to going to any Bally's gym in the U.S. and in the world. I have a Premier Plus membership, for which I paid $1045 for three years and $9 a month after that for life (mine or gym's). I paid the initial sum in full, but one can pay in monthly installments, which in total will come out a bit more.
The Premier Plus membership has a few advantages over the regular Fitness membership. It is transferable. In other words, if I get sick of Bally's or decide not to work out anymore I can sell/transfer my membership to anyone who wants to join the club. This person will only pick up my dues, which would be an awesome bargain. $9 a month! One cannot do better than that! The Premier Plus membership also allows you to go to any Bally's gym, not just one specific gym close to your house. Naturally, the Premier Plus membership costs more than Fitness, but I think it's worth it. Your local sales rep will talk you into buying whatever is more expensive anyway.
Procedural issues aside, Bally's gyms have some decent equipment, machines and free weights, and offer many aerobics/fitness classes. Bally's bigger gyms, like mine, have racquetball courts, swimming pool, Jacuzzi and sauna. But it's not just the equipment it's the workout atmosphere that's important. After all, many people have dumbbells, barbells or treadmills at home and never use them. They cannot force themselves to workout at home. There are too many distractions--family, TV, phone, internet, books, plain laziness, etc. When I was 18 I thought why would I spend all this money to go to gym when I can buy myself some equipment and save the money and time of going to gym. Yeah right! If things were only this easy.
On Saturday and Sunday mornings, Bally's is quite empty; it is patronized by people who pay their dues but never go to gym (which is the majority of Bally's members). Once in every couple of months they wake up from the hibernation feeling guilty and drag themselves to gym, and try to figure out, "Hmm, how does this thing work?" If you are very self-conscious and concerned about your bad physical form, this is the best time to start. You will find yourself surrounded by many out-of-shape individuals without a clue about body building or best ways to exercise. That's why I never go to gym early on weekends (Ok, well, it would be really tough anyway after Friday/Saturday nights).
For me, the best workout atmosphere is when the gym is somewhat full and mostly by people who are serious about their workouts. (When the gym is empty, I feel like, "What the hell am I doing in this place when all smart people are doing something else at this time?") The social aspects of Bally's often get in the way of a good workout. Some people like it this way--a place to hang out, a place to meet people. Nothing's wrong with that. In other words, a two hour workout in Bally's is probably not the same for most people as a two hour workout in Gold's Gym. There is a fair share of social, nothing-to-do-with-exercise activities.
Ok, time is up. Gotta go to gym.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
AlexG
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 130
Trusted by: 237 members
About Me:
Alex has a voracious appetite for travel. Travel hasn't satisfied an appetite. It's created one.
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